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Objectives Infections with multidrug-resistant microorganisms (e.g. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus) cause immense complications in wound care and in the treatment of immunosuppressed patients. Like most antimicrobial peptides, histones are relatively small polycationic proteins located in each eukaryotic nucleus, which naturally supercoil DNA. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo activity of histone H1.2 in infected burn wounds and its potential toxicity. Methods To characterize the antimicrobial properties of histone H1.2 against potential causative organisms of burn wound infections, the in vitro radial diffusion assay and modified NCCLS microbroth dilution MIC assay were carried out. Haemolytic and cytotoxic properties were determined in human red blood cells and primary human keratinocytes. In vivo antimicrobial activity was tested in an infected rat burn model with P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853). All results were compared with the naturally occurring broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide protegrin-1 and with antibiotics clinically used against the corresponding bacteria. Results Human histone H1.2 exerted good antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms without significant haemolytic activity. Surprisingly, histone H1.2 showed cytotoxicity with an LD50 of 7.91 mg/L in primary human keratinocytes. The in vivo burn model data revealed a significant three-fold higher reduction in bacterial counts within 4 h compared with carrier control. Conclusions These findings indicate that histone H1.2 is a potential candidate for use as a local and, because of its low haemolytic activity, systemic antimicrobial agent. However, further investigations are needed to specify the cytotoxicity and the dose-response relationship for histone H1.2.

The calcium-independent receptors for latrotoxin (CIRL1-CIRL3) constitute a family of seven-transmembrane receptors with an unsually large N-terminal extracellular domain which comprises several motifs usually found in cell adhesion molecules. By yeast two-hybrid screening, we have identified the intracellular C-termini of CIRL1 and CIRL2 as interaction partners of the PDZ domain of the proline-rich synapse-associated protein (ProSAP)/somatostatin receptor-interacting protein (SSTRIP) family of postsynaptic proteins (SSTRIP, ProSAP1 and ProSAP2, also known as shank1-shank3 respectively). Overlay assays indicate that the ProSAP1/shank2 PDZ domain in particular interacts strongly with the C-terminus of CIRL1 and CIRL2. Co-immuno-precipitation of ProSAP1 and CIRL1 (but not CIRL2) from rat brain extracts indicates that this interaction also occurs in vivo in rat brain. The known postsynaptic localization of ProSAP1, as well as our observation that CIRL1 (but not CIRL2) is enriched in postsynaptic density preparations from the rat brain, suggests that CIRL1 is localized pre- as well as post-synaptically in the central nervous system.